Strength of Your Word
by IcyPanther
Summary: "Open his mouth," Hunk heard the order and Lance's chokes turned to a low moan. "Let's make him smile nice and red," came the hiss. And Hunk? He's had enough. / Lance saves Hunk. Hunk saves Lance. Rinse and repeat. It's what they do. So when a simple mission turns deadly these two are going to have each other's backs. No matter the consequences. Injured Hunk, Hunk and Lance whump


**Timeline notes:** Set during season five

 **Warning notes:** Tiny bit of violence and injury but nothing graphic. *rereads summary* Well. Nothing graphic for *me*

 **xxx**

 **Strength of Your Word**

 **xxx**

" _Dios_ Hunk, don't look at it!"

The warning came too late as Hunk caught sight of his mangled arm, bone visible under the gore, and promptly vomited, the splatter fortunately missing his outstretched legs.

Lance hooked his arms under Hunk's armpits and hefted him backwards away from the mess as much as he could, which was a few inches but still better than being directly in front of it.

"Told you not to look," he said, voice lighter than he felt. _He_ didn't want to look at it either but hadn't had much of a choice because Hunk's arm had been trapped by the rubble from the explosion and upon digging it out he'd gotten a full on view of the damage.

He'd hoped to get Hunk out of the cave system before he caught sight of it, but luck was not on their side.

It hadn't been for a while. What was supposed to be a simple assist to one of their newest allies had turned into quite the pickle as said ally hadn't mentioned they were dealing with a guerilla rebel faction. Lance and Hunk had found themselves caught in the middle of it when the underground caverns they'd ventured into to retrieve a special one of a kind jewel that the ally said they needed but was too dangerous for their own kind to traverse (they were towering twelve-foot tank-like aliens that could not navigate the smaller passages so how the jewel ended up there Lance really wanted to know) had apparently been rigged with explosives by the rebels who had employed a smaller alien species to assist in their own attempts to get the jewel without outside interference.

He and Hunk had been caught in one blast, Hunk taking the brunt of it, and resulting in his arm being near crushed by part of the ceiling. His armor had saved it from the worst, but… Lance swallowed thickly. Not enough. The blast must have torn the armor off and then the rocks struck because they'd torn Hunk open like he was butter.

The only saving grace was Hunk had been in a state of numb shock as Lance hefted his good arm about his shoulders and pulled them out of the collapsed tunnel and into a larger cavern and hadn't offered any protest about the forced stumble or noticed how much pain he was probably in.

But Lance had had to stop when Hunk's knees buckled and now here they were.

"L-Lance, there's b-bone," Hunk rasped, followed by another heave.

"I know, I know," Lance comforted, pulling Hunk away from this newest puddle. He tapped his headset, trying to remain calm. "Shiro? Allura? Anyone there?" Static buzzed just as it had before. They were too deep in the caverns for the signal to work. He pulled it back off and set it next to Hunk's on the raised rock that they were using to illuminate their corner of the cave.

"Hunk, _hermano,_ look at me," Lance crouched down in front of Hunk. Eyes pinpricked by fear and pain met his and Lance pressed their foreheads together, one hand going behind Hunk's head to keep it steady. "It's going to be okay. All right? The pods will fix it up in no time."

Hunk's eyes darted sideways towards his arm and Lance clucked his tongue, bringing the gaze back to him.

"It hurts," Hunk whispered and Lance grimaced. He'd been waiting for that as the adrenaline faded.

"I know. I'm gonna try and bandage it. Band-aids make everything better after all, right?"

"Only works with a kiss," Hunk retorted, although some of the fear was leaving his face even though it was still paler than it should be.

"Then I'll give it a big one. Smoochy noises and everything."

Hunk let out a low chuckle that turned into a moan and his gaze drifted back to the left.

"Hey, eyes on me," Lance said, drumming his fingers on the back of Hunk's head. "Just focus on me, okay?" He grinned. "You know how much I love the attention. I'll be insulted if your arm is more interesting than me."

"Can't have that," Hunk mumbled, a small grin on his face.

"Exactly." Lance released his hold and stood up, proceeding to pull his chest plate off, followed by his arm braces and shoulder pads and then utility belt.

"What're you doing?" Hunk queried, keeping his eyes trained on Lance as asked.

"Practicing my strip show," Lance winked as he shimmied out of the top half of his undersuit. "Got some hot alien babes up top to impress with all this," he flexed his arm, "when we get out of here."

"Gonna close my eyes then," he said and Lance squawked in mock indignation.

"How rude. And here I was going to cut up my shirt and everything for you."

That piqued Hunk's interest and he watched as Lance turned his bayard into the broadsword he'd only seen once in training – shocked him when Lance had whipped it out to counter Shiro's arm and their leader had been so surprised too that he hadn't even deflected Lance's follow up strike and was handed his first loss since Keith had left – so he leaned forward for a closer look, pain temporarily forgotten.

Lance had laid his shirt out on the rocky ground and was holding it down with his feet while he traced the tip of the sword along the sleeve, tongue sticking out in concentration.

"Do you think my bayard will ever change?" he asked quietly as Lance separated the left sleeve. He was the only one who had not yet managed to make anything other than his cannon (save Shiro but Shiro had never once used the bayard in combat so no one had any clue what it could do) and Lance had _three_ forms now, and one so drastically different from the other two.

"Maybe," Lance said. "Maybe not. Allura says they change to reflect us. And you're perfect as you are, Hunk." He flashed a grin over his shoulder. "You don't need anything else."

Hunk frowned at the word choice. "So you're saying, what, exactly? That you aren't?"

Lance's grip slipped as he was dissecting his now freed sleeve. "No," he said quietly after a moment. "Just… well, I don't know. I still have no idea why it made a sword. That's… that's Keith's thing." He let out a low laugh that was tinged with something Hunk didn't like. "Guess I really do just follow in his footsteps, huh?"

"Lance…"

"But if your bayard did change, I bet it'd be like a huge hammer," Lance continued. "Like Thor. Except way, way bigger."

Hunk let it go, knowing now was not the time to start psychoanalyzing bayards. His arm gave a sharp ache then and he grit his teeth, trying to ignore it and avoid looking at it. His mouth still tasted sour.

"A hammer?" he repeated, following that line.

"Yeah, a war hammer. Cause you're super strong, you know? But at your core you're a builder so after you have to break something you can build it back up."

Hunk blinked. That was… surprisingly deep for Lance. He knew his best friend was smart, not a genius like him and Pidge but intelligent in his own right especially when it came to reading people, but Lance didn't often give voice to that side of him. He preferred to let people see the goofball and almost painfully casual side of him, which always made it strike harder when he would get serious and calculated.

"You're distracting me," Hunk said slowly.

"Is it working?" Lance grinned, coming back to him with a few ragged looking strips of what had been part of his shirt.

"Yes," Hunk admitted. "But Lance?" Dark ocean eyes looked up at him with a question. "You're amazing yourself. And don't ever think otherwise."

Lance swatted Hunk's shoulder, a faint flush highlighting his cheeks. Hunk nodded to himself. Much better.

"All right, how about you keep complimenting me then while I bandage this?" Lance suggested with a smirk. "It'll keep you distracted."

"I don't think your ego needs any more infl—"

Hunk cut himself off as a low rumble sounded and the walls of their cavern shook, dust billowing down. A second later there was another one, followed by what sounded like an explosion and a burst of light appeared from down one of the many narrow corridors.

"A rescue?" Hunk whispered, licking suddenly dry lips.

"That's from inside the cavern, not from outside," Lance said back, voice pitched low.

So. No rescue. That would be the enemy.

Fudge.

"Hold still," Lance breathed and that was all the warning Hunk got as Lance braced one hand on his upper arm and began wrapping the strips of shirt all about his forearm.

Hunk barely swallowed back his loud gasp as Lance pulled tight and even in the dim lighting from only their armor and headlamps he could see new blood welling up. Acid tickled his throat and sheer will made him swallow it back down this time. Lance made a sling with the remaining strip and hastily but still carefully pulled Hunk's arm through it.

"Headlight off," Lance said quietly, moving back to his own pile of armor and clothes and trusting Hunk to turn the helmets off as well as pull his own on. Hunk was in no condition to fight, unable to lift his cannon with one arm completely immobilized and depending on the number of fighters Lance wasn't sure he could take them either. Better to have the element of surprise.

He quickly pulled his mostly intact shirt back on and then his chestplate and arm guards. The light was getting brighter now, an orange and yellow glow bouncing from inside the tunnel and he could hear muffled voices. He was just pulling his darkened helmet on when the light entered the cavern.

Lance silently cursed at the bright white of their armor and the teal indicator lights that they'd never found a way to turn off. He'd kill for one of the Marmora uniforms right now. Stealth had never been a Paladins primary objective but Lance was thinking they really ought to have some uniform options for later.

A large group of aliens, maybe about Pidge-sized, were pouring into the cavern. Lance could make out their features thanks to their own light source; thin and weasel-y looking with sharp teeth and paws that were much bigger than their body mass suggested they should be, ending with sharp claws. Excellent for digging, Lance was certain. Or gutting someone. Could go either way.

"Spread out," hissed one of the hirelings. "Kill anyone you encounter. Bring me that jewel!"

Jewel. Oh.

Lance cast his gaze to Hunk's utility bag he'd clipped to his belt where inside nestled the likely jewel in question. It really hadn't been all that hard to come by, the ally having a detailed map of the cave system from hired scouts they'd sent in prior, and found it embedded high in a cave ceiling that was easily as tall as the castle. Nothing their jetpacks couldn't assist with though and between that and the picking at the base with their shields he and Hunk had managed to free it.

It was quite beautiful, a dark green interlaced with blue and turquoise streaks. Kind of like a giant stalagmite. The "King's Jewel" they had called it and it was to settle the matter of succession in the kingdom. But again, someone (cough, the ally) had neglected to mention that they weren't the only ones gunning for the gem and the other side was not opposed to deadly force.

Just their lucky day.

Lance was tempted to offer it to them. He certainly wasn't going to put his and Hunk's lives below a pretty gem, especially when their ally had blatantly lied to them about the dangers. If they'd have even an inkling that there was an opposing force Allura would have never just sent him and Hunk while she, Pidge and Shiro had remained to handle more diplomatic sides. Why Pidge was included in that Lance hadn't a clue but Allura had said all of them needed more practice with handling alliances and this would be good practice.

Lance had been jealous as he'd wanted to remain behind and get to know King's super tall but beautiful daughter better, but now he was grateful because otherwise Pidge would be in his shoes right now and he'd never want her in this kind of danger.

But the jewel. He could give it to them, but Lance had a feeling it wouldn't be so easy. They didn't seem like the kind who would just let them walk out of this.

He looked back at Hunk, face wan and pinched with pain, and then back at the aliens still coming into the room. Easily at least thirty. Too many for him to snipe and even if he opened fire with his blaster unlikely to make enough of a dent for an escape. Hunk wasn't moving quickly either.

He took a deep breath. What to do?

They would find them soon. Even with the few seconds of surprise if he were to start firing now Lance knew it wouldn't be enough to make a difference.

"Hunk," he said quietly, "I need the jewel."

Even beneath the helmet he could see Hunk's eyes widen. "What?"

Lance made a 'give me' motion with his left hand, other holding his bayard sniping rifle. "Hurry."

Hunk awkwardly dug into the pouch and pulled it free, juggling it in his hand before he gave it over. It was warm, Lance noted, seeming to thrum with some type of energy.

"Please be careful," Hunk whispered. He didn't like this. He understood, not being able to see the aliens but hearing their number, that this wasn't an enemy they would likely take, but Lance had no idea if they were going to let them just walk out of here.

"When am I not?" Lance answered with a tight grin.

Hunk did not answer that.

He instead focused on summoning his bayard to his right hand and the canon formed. Hunk hefted it over his legs, angling it in the direction of the growing light. He couldn't aim at all without his other arm but he could still hit the trigger and shoot it like this.

Just in case.

He really hoped it wasn't an in case situation.

Lance meanwhile had edged out from behind the protective covering of their large rock, jewel high in hand and gripping his bayard tightly. The weasels were still scouring the other side of the cave, literally leaving no stone unturned. Lance admired their commitment even though he was pretty sure no life form would fit under that pebble.

"Hey!" he called out, "Got something for you!"

Immediately every head swiveled in his direction and okay, that was a little creepy. He pasted on a bright grin and hefted the jewel higher. "Found this jewel-thing."

"Found it?" sneered the tallest weasel, elbowing his way to the front of the pack. "More like stole it, you thief."

"Takes one to know one," Lance shot back. He heard Hunk groan behind him and several of the aliens bristled. "Anyways," his smile grew wider and he bit down on his tongue. Antagonizing them wasn't a good idea apparently. "It's all yours."

"That seems very generous of you."

"I'm a generous guy," Lance shrugged. "One who also really, really doesn't like bloodshed." He raised his rifle in warning. "But hey, up to you."

"You will give us the King's Jewel without any strings attached?" the alien clarified.

"Yup. Just let me and my buddy walk out of here."

"Buddy?" the word rolled off the alien's tongue strangely.

"Friend. Comrade," Lance said. "He's just behind this rock here," he tapped it backwards with his foot. "Just let us go, no harm, no foul, and this rock is yours."

"Agreed," the weasel smiled, all sharp teeth.

"Great," Lance grinned back. "We're going to go for that entrance right… there," he jerked his head in the direction that based on his mental map of where they'd come in was where they had to go. "When we get there I'll toss the jewel back. Capiche?"

The alien inclined his head.

Lance carefully backed up to go behind the rock, never once taking his eyes off the horde. "Up we go," he said quietly and Hunk dematerialized his bayard back into his armor. "Time to get out of here."

Lance didn't dare put down his bayard or the jewel, so he crouched down and Hunk slung his good arm around Lance's shoulders and braced himself a best he could to standing. Vertigo kicked in as soon as Hunk was upright and he staggered to the left, hearing Lance let out a "whoa" as he tried to rebalance him.

"'m okay," Hunk managed, getting his feet under him. His arm gave another stabbing ache and Hunk tried to hide the resulting groan working its way up his throat.

He got his own glimpse of the aliens Lance had made the deal with. He didn't like the look of the smile on the one out in front. It seemed… smarmy. And not just because it looked almost like a weasel and weasels were always the bad animals in books and movies.

But none of them so much as twitched towards them as Lance carefully walked them on an angle towards their chosen exit, some even actually backing up to give the two humans a wider berth.

Huh. Honest weasels. Hunk liked it.

They reached the tunnel a minute later and Lance briefly ducked out from under Hunk's arm and placed the jewel clearly on the ground in front of them.

"All right, it's right there," Lance said, backing them up and into the tunnel, bayard still at his side but no longer gripped so tightly.

"And you have my word," the weasel smiled. "We shall indeed let you walk out of here."

"Great, thanks. Five stars for hospitality. I'll make sure to leave you a nice review."

Hunk frowned though as they made their way down the tunnel. Something about the way the alien had phrased the conditions sounded odd.

 _Let you walk out of here._

Hunk came to a halting stop.

"Hunk, what are you-?"

"Run," Hunk gasped, already stumbling forward again and picking up the pace.

"Run?" Lance repeated. "What? Why?"

The tunnel around them rumbled ominously.

"Holy crow!" Lance yelped. "Those two-timing wea—"

Rocks exploded from all sides with concussive force. Hunk only had a moment to see Lance desperately throwing his shield arm up before something smashed into his head and the world went dark.

xxx

His arm was on fire.

Not literal, or at least Hunk didn't think so, but holy cheeseballs did it feel like it. He wrenched open his eyes and flames danced in front of them.

He was on fire.

Hunk let out a yelp and the dancing flames moved away, which he realized were connected to a torch. Not him.

Well that was good.

"The large one is awake!" called out a high-pitched voice.

Hunk felt something latch onto his burning arm and he did yell then, vision whiting out.

"Don't hurt him!"

Lance.

He sounded scared.

Hunk fought against the blinding whiteness and came back to near darkness save for flames in brackets. They illuminated a smaller cavern that was filled with the weasel looking aliens and… Lance, kneeling on the ground, arms wrenched behind him and helmet missing. His armor was dinged and dented and there was a trickle of blood snaking from his hairline to drip down past his left eye.

"Quiet," snapped the head weasel, and one of his large, clawed paws came up and smacked against Lance's face, sending him toppling sideways.

"Lance!" gasped Hunk, breathless as he was dragged into the center of the room and dumped next to Lance. He was unbound, he realized a tick later, but his arm was no longer just hurting but a writhing, burning mess and he didn't think he'd be capable of moving even if he wanted to.

"Hunk!" Lance struggled to pull himself back to his knees and shuffled over to Hunk's downed form, eyes only for him despite the enemy surrounding them. "Hunk!"

"Quiet, Paladin, or I'll make you permanently so," snarled the alien, fingering a knife. Lance swallowed back his next exclamation and leveled a heated glare instead. The alien chuckled. "Much better."

"What do you want with us?" Lance asked a moment later, but at a lower volume. Next to him Hunk had closed his eyes and sweat was dotting his brow. The bandages covering his arm were saturated and Lance winced. Not good.

They needed to get out of here.

"You are the vaunted Paladins of Voltron, are you not? I wonder what the Galra Empire would pay for you."

"You're crazy if you think they'll give you a single GAC," Lance snarled. "They'll just kill—"

A different alien took a swing at him then and Lance hit the rocky ground next to Hunk with an oomph. The weasel knelt next to him then and placed a jagged blade against his throat. Lance resisted the urge to swallow.

"Master Dolohov, please, allow me to remove his tongue and save you from his voice," the alien hissed.

"Stand down, Antonin," came the sharp reply. "Not yet."

With a grumble Antonin removed his blade and pulled away. Lance more carefully this time sat up, choosing to remain on his rump rather than his knees and next to Hunk.

"You were saying, Paladin?" Dolohov asked, raising a thin eyebrow. "This is no longer the Empire under Zarkon, you see. It is Lotor and the prince can be… swayed, I am certain. You are not to be ransomed for information but as allies. I wonder how much he values your lives."

"You're pretty well informed for a rodent," Lance said while internally he was wincing. Lotor might be on their side but he wasn't sure how much he trusted him to actually pay a ransom. Lotor might wash his hands of them and call it a calculated risk if he could get it past Allura.

Clearly the word didn't translate again as the weasel took no offense at what was supposed to be an insult. "We are mercenaries, Paladin. We work for the highest bidder. Like this jewel." He held up the sparkling green stone. "We were hired by the rebels to retrieve it, but now we shall offer its sale to the would-be-king. If he offers more then it is his."

"You're definitely more snake than weasel," Lance growled.

Dolohov shrugged. "I do not understand your trivial words, but I take them as a compliment."

"So make the trade," Lance challenged. "See what Lotor gives you."

"In good time."

Lance swallowed back his next retort as Hunk let out a low whimper next to him.

"In case you didn't notice, my friend doesn't have a lot of time," Lance gritted out. "He needs medical attention."

"A flesh wound," Dolohov sniffed. "He will live." He turned his gaze to the side. "Antonin?"

The weasel surged to his feet and made his way to Hunk. Dolohov nodded and without any warning the alien's sharp claws dug down into the bandages and the wound below.

Hunk _wailed_ and thrashed and Lance screamed, pushing himself to his knees, prepared to head butt the weasel but he let go of Hunk and backed up, paws raised as though innocent.

"See?" Dolohov smirked as Hunk's hoarse gasps and cries filled the room. "Still a healthy scream. He is fine."

Lance kept his mouth shut, horrorified that his words had caused such a response.

Apparently satisfied that his captive was done talking, Dolohov turned to a small contingent of other aliens to talk, tones low, while Antonin and a few others remained on guard but did not approach. Lance bent down, pressing his forehead against Hunk's shoulder in as much comfort as he could offer at the moment.

"Hunk?" he whispered. "H-Hunk?"

Hunk let out a small whimper.

"I'm so sorry," Lance mumbled. " _Lo siento mucho,_ Hunk. I didn't think… this is all my fault… I'm so sorry."

Hunk was busy breathing heavily and trying desperately not to puke, Lance's words white noise. Eventually when he felt that his exhale wasn't going to be acid-tinged and the pain had faded back to just a sharp pulsing agony instead of a supernova (and the fact he was considering that a lower pain threshold was just ridiculous) Hunk tuned back in to hear Lance murmuring apology after apology.

"Lance," he interrupted, more of a wheeze than a word but Lance immediately quieted. Worried blue eyes swam over his when he forced his eyes open, highlighting several scratches carved into Lance's cheek from the earlier backhand.

"'m okay," Hunk managed.

"This is all my fault," Lance whispered. "I'm sorry, Hunk. I shouldn't have trusted them."

"Doesn't… matter," and wow, breathing was still harder than it should be. Hunk sucked in one large inhale and let it out slowly, trying to picture it blanketing the fire that was his arm. It sort of helped. Maybe. "Couldn't… take all of them." There. A little better.

Lance bit his lip. "Maybe. But I walked us right into that. Literally."

A cruel chuckle. "You sure did."

Lance looked away and past Hunk. "Hey! We're having a private conversation here."

Hunk was honestly surprised when none of the aliens retaliated for the comment although he heard a definite scuffle off to the side and Lance winced, no doubt biting his tongue.

"Sorry," Lance murmured a second later and pressed his forehead on Hunk's shoulder. "That was stupid. I just… Hunk… What do we do? You need a pod. Your arm…"

"I'll be okay," Hunk said with more conviction that he felt. His entire left side was starting to ache now and he tried to chase his brain from thinking about an infection. It was too early for that. Hopefully.

They needed to get out of here. Hunk knew they couldn't wait around for negotiations because those were likely to take more than a few hours as would any rescue attempt if the team got worried by the delay and came looking. If they were stuck here for too long… Shiro might not be the only one on the team modeling a prosthetic. Infection would set in eventually and then they'd have to amputate and that would hurt really, really bad and—

"Hunk, breathe," Lance butted his head against his shoulder. "C'mon, _hermano,_ deep breath. You've got this."

A few noisy inhales and exhales later Hunk had calmed down again. They were going to get out of here long before such a thing happened. It was going to be okay. They just had to figure out a plan even though it was going to be hard to make one with the guard clearly listening.

But… they didn't seem familiar with a lot of Earth terms. Stood to reason Altean also wasn't in their vocabulary. They likely spoke some form of common that the translators assisted in but if their own language didn't have an equivalent (although how they didn't have weasel Hunk had no idea) it didn't translate. It was worth a shot. If Lance could figure what Hunk was trying to say that was.

"Weasels not tigers," Hunk said, channeling the words at Lance and wondering if he would get it. He didn't dare use Lions as thanks to Voltron such a word was common knowledge.

"What?" Lance picked his head up to stare Hunk in the eyes. "Of course they're not." His face paled. "Do you have a fever? Is your brain cooking? Are you going loopy on me already? Please no."

"Lance," Hunk said through gritted teeth. " _Weasels_ not understand _tigers_."

Lance blinked at him.

This wasn't working. New tactic.

"Weasels not Pidge," he tried again. "Not," he winced, "Mullet."

Lance still looked lost.

"Weasels," Hunk wracked his brain for something useful. "Not understand… Phantasm Kill Bot."

"Oh," Lance breathed, some version of understanding dawning. He winked. "Gotcha. Weasels _no comprenden_ pizza _y_ rollercoasters?"

Hunk let out a relieved sigh. Yes. "Bayard?" he followed up with, hoping it was on the no-understand list.

Lance gave a minute shake of his head. It was on rock behind him as because it hadn't reformed in his armor following the explosion and the weasels had nabbed it.

"Checkmate," Hunk said and Lance's eyes widened and darted from Hunk's face to his thigh where the holster was. Because Hunk had deactivated his before they'd gone to exit the tunnel and the weasels had no idea he was armed.

"Cat's cradle," Lance said and wiggled his shoulders, emphasizing his current lack of ability to move his hands. "Can you… uh… checkmate?" Because Hunk was badly hurt and wouldn't be able to really lift it and Lance couldn't grab it, assuming it would turn into some sort of gun for him.

Hunk went to respond but a shadow passed over his face and the weasel with the jagged knife, Antonin, was there and shoving Lance backwards with a growl.

"What are you saying?" he snarled, spittle flying and hitting Lance's face.

"Easy dude, chill," Lance leaned back to get away from the snout. "Just calming my buddy down. He's in a lot of pain."

Antonin hissed and his large paw went to Lance's throat, squeezing. Lance gagged, unable to do anything as the alien pushed down, using his current height advantage.

"I do not like it," he hissed. "Too noisy."

He lifted his knife in his other paw and pressed it against Lance's mouth. "How about it? I won't cut it out but maybe I'll just cut it up."

Lance made a choking noise, spots beginning to dance in his vision as his air supply was squeezed out.

Hunk was still lying on his back and couldn't see clearly what was happening, but more and more weasels were making their way over to his side by Lance and were hissing encouragement while Lance continued to sound like he was literally being choked to death.

"Open his mouth," Hunk heard the order and Lance's chokes turned to a low moan.

"Let's make you smile nice and red," came the hiss.

And Hunk had had enough. He had no idea how he was supposed to use his canon one-armed but they were literally going to _cut Lance's tongue_ while he just lied here.

No.

Pardon his French, but hell no.

Hunk took one last deep breath, moved his right hand down to his holster and felt his bayard's grip mold into his hand.

And he surged upwards, striking out and hoping to use the canon as a battering ram.

But there was no heavy, bulky canon in his hand.

There was a huge hammer instead, the handle fitting comfortably in his single hand and moving with a grace he was not used to.

Huh.

He struck the back of the weasel that was pulling on one side of Lance's mouth to force it open and the weasel…

He went flying.

There was a moment of stunned silence as every head swiveled in Hunk's direction and he took that moment for all it was worth.

Roaring out a wordless battle cry, Hunk swung the hammer back the other way, smashing it into the knife-wielding Antonin and the unfortunate weasel standing next to him, clambering to his knees in the movement and then to his feet.

His vision flared white for the barest moment and Hunk fought it back, sending the hammer whistling around in a circle and striking every head in the immediate area, save Lance whose lower position on the ground saved him from having his own caved in.

Lance stared at him with large eyes before a huge grin lit his face and he cheered out a "yes!" that Hunk thought might be a little preemptive as they still had a cave full of aliens to battle through and Hunk couldn't say how long he would remain standing but he felt a matching grin stretch his face.

The immediate area around them was cleared out and Lance bounced to his feet even with his hands bound behind him with a grace that Hunk severely envied.

The weasels were reaching for weapons, but fortunately for the Paladins those seemed to be made up of knives and swords instead of guns and another giant sweep of Hunk's arm cleared out the two that tried to dash in.

"My bayard!" Lance shouted, turning in the direction of the rock where it was perched. "Hurry!"

Hunk made one more pass with his hammer and then dissolved it so he could reach for Lance's bayard, still formed into a sword. It fortunately didn't change back as he picked it up and with as much care as he could in his haste, the aliens closing back in now that there was no immediate threat, placed it between Lance's bound hands and yanked.

Lance hissed and Hunk's eyes widened, horrified, as he saw blood, but Lance was already turning and snatching his bayard back and it turned into his trusty blaster. He laid down immediate cover fire, spinning in a circle to go back to back with Hunk, who had reformed his hammer.

"Stop them!" screamed Dolohov, although he himself was hanging back as Lance's shots pelted into the masses. Lance aimed his bayard, swapping it to a sniper rifle in a blink. A tick later Dolohov's body was hitting the ground.

"Come on!" Lance screamed, taking off for the exit he had tried for earlier, blaster reforming and sending aliens scattering at the shots.

Hunk stumbled behind him, not knowing how long this second wind of his was going to last and knowing that the instant it vanished he was done for.

Lance ducked into the tunnel and shot out a barrage of warning shots behind them.

However…

"The bombs," Hunk gasped. They were just going to trigger the explosions again.

Lance smirked. "I've got us covered." His expression became more solemn as he met Hunk's gaze. "Stay with me."

Hunk nodded.

Lance shifted his bayard back to the sniper rifle, bracing it against his shoulder and stepped quickly but lightly down the tunnel. It was dark here, the visibility decreasing the further they got from the well lit cavern and only the lights of their armor lighting the way. Hunk had a momentary fear that they were going to not only blow up but get lost while doing so.

But Lance moved confidently and Hunk followed.

There was the sound then of Lance firing his rifle and Hunk nearly jumped. But Lance just let out a quiet, "ha!" beneath his breath and kept going.

Lights were starting to come down the tunnel now as the aliens gave chase. Hunk wondered why as he personally would be grabbing the jewel and running the opposite direction.

He glanced back at Lance, only then noticing a large, shiny green gemstone pressed between Lance's stomach and his utility belt.

When had…

Hunk shook his head. He didn't want to know.

The lights were also revealing the faintest shine in the otherwise rocky tunnel and as he watched Lance pointed his rifle and shot out the shine. As they hurried past it Hunk felt his mouth drop as he realized Lance was severing the proximity alarm that set the bomb off from the actual explosive.

A grin threatened to split his face. His best friend was _amazing._

A few turns later Hunk could make out daylight. Just in time too as his vision was starting to tunnel (no pun intended, really) and his breaths didn't sound like his own.

Hunk realized he was about to faint.

He was honestly surprised he'd lasted this long.

He lumbered out of the tunnel, collapsing to the ground on his knees.

Lance wasn't quite done yet though. He turned his bayard back to a blaster and aimed it at the top of the tunnel entrance with a sharp grin.

And then he open fired.

Rocks and debris crashed down, the very ground around them shaking and Hunk tipped fully over on his side, no longer able to sit up. His vision was definitely starting to go black around the edges now and the pain in his arm was finally dulling as unconsciousness tugged at him. He let it. The danger was over.

He was vaguely aware of Lance crouching next to him, expression going from a jubilant grin to worried. He heard his name being called but it sounded so, so far away. He tried to muster up a smile to reassure Lance but the darkness took over first and Hunk let it bear him away.

xxx

"Whoa, okay, I've got you." The sound of a deep breath and a yelp and Hunk felt himself tip, hands sliding down his arms while his head rested against something warm. "Okay. Maybe not so much." Lance's voice was rising in pitch and Hunk felt hands dig into his shoulders. "Hey, Hunk? _Hermano?_ Want to wake up for me, _por favor?_ I can't," a grunt, "hold you up."

Wake up?

Hunk felt himself tipping further and there was a moment of weightlessness before a sudden yelp and Hunk felt his knees smash into the ground. It all seemed a bit dulled as he tried to figure out what was going on.

" _Dios!_ Hunk! _Dios mío! Lo siento!"_ Lance sounded absolutely panicked now and hands were pressing against his chest. "Say something! _¡Di algo_! _"_

"Lance?" he mumbled, knees aching.

"Oh _gracias a Dios."_ The hands that had been holding him from tipping forward were suddenly gone and Hunk found himself being shoved backwards now as Lance practically threw himself into a hug.

Hunk ended up on his rear end, blinking as he found himself with an armful of Lance, hair tickling underneath his chin.

"Lance?" he repeated. His eyes lifted up to gaze about the room, realizing a second later they were in the infirmary.

And just like that he remembered why he would have ended up here and getting the joys of a first time cryo-pod trip. He glanced down at his arms, which had instinctively encircled Lance without his knowing, but they were covered in the white cryo-suit. Still, there was no pain and his flesh hand was clearly attached. He let out a shudder of relief.

His gaze sharpened as he realized Lance was wearing a matching outfit.

He braced his hands on Lance's shoulders and pulled him back, searching the relieved looking face for some indication of a more severe injury.

Lance seemed to be following this line of query better (he should, Hunk thought, given how many times he ended up in the pods) and smiled brightly. "I'm fine. Coran just said unless I wanted some wicked scars from those nails - man, those were sharp! - I should pop in for a bit. And I mean, I know I would look amazing no matter what I figured why do anything to this beautiful face before its time?"

Hunk rolled his eyes and grinned. "What happened?" he asked after a moment, "After you shot out the tunnel?"

"Oh! Well, since our helmets were underground I decided the best thing to do was to signal for help. So I shot my bayard a few times at that huge gate that led to the tunnels, you know the one you can see from town?, and sent it crashing down. Brought half the town running. Shiro came and got you and loaded you into a pod. I told Allura everything and she's still off having a go at the king."

Hunk did not envy the monarch at all. Allura was downright scary when she wanted to be and the fact two of her team had ended up in cryo pods after being captured by a rebel hired faction would not bode well for the receiving end.

"And… the weasels?"

"Popped out of another hole into the waiting arms of the police. Got our helmets back, by the way. Coran is shining them up now. Pidge is with him and Shiro is with Allura, probably to make sure she doesn't hulk out or something."

Lance's voice grew more devious and he sat back like a little kid at storytime. "Speaking of the Hulk. I called it. You're Thor."

Hunk let out a chuckle and rubbed the back of his head. "I have no idea where it came from. I knew I couldn't lift the cannon and it just… appeared."

Lance grinned, soft and proud. "It looked good on you." Hunk felt his face color with a pleased flush. " _And_ I managed to leave that little detail out of my debrief so you get to share the news," Lance continued. "I was thinking maybe during training and scare the pants off of Allura? About time someone knocked her down."

"Can you keep it secret for that long?" Hunk teased and Lance stuck his tongue out. "Sorry, _hermano._ I'll be announcing this one at dinner. _I_ can't keep it secret that long."

"Fair enough," Lance shrugged. "Speaking of dinner, you up to cooking? I am starving and Allura banned me from going into town. Something about attracting trouble."

Hunk chuckled and clambered to his feet, offering a hand down to Lance. "I wonder where she got such an idea."

"Right?" Lance purposefully missed the sarcastic tone. " _I_ attract trouble? Please. I'm as innocent as they come."

Hunk hummed to that and Lance knocked him with his shoulder. His expression turned more solemn then and he paused before they exited the room. "Hunk? Thank you. I'm glad you were there with me."

"I've always got your back, _hermano,"_ Hunk said gently _. "_ Just as you've got mine. Thank _you_ for being there for me. You were amazing."

"You were more amazing," Lance countered, although pink highlighted his cheeks.

"You were."

"No, you definitely were."

Hunk chuckled. "Let's just go with we're both amazing. Okay?"

Lance grinned. "If you insist."

"And I do," Hunk swung an arm about Lance's shoulders, drawing a laugh and a sunny smile and Hunk returned it with his own.

Everything was amazing indeed.

xxx

 **Author's Notes:**

I snuck in (or maybe they were super obvious, who knows) a Hobbit reference and a Harry Potter one, plus the obvious Marvel shoutouts (and one not so obvious). Did you spot them? :D

Commission fic for the lovely fayheyhey who requested a Hunk and Lance duo adventure with hurt!Hunk (I threw in some threat to Lance, I can't help myself I'm sorry) and the boys being out of range of help and fighting some local planet baddies without having ended up captured. Well, sort of had a bit of a capture scenario (oops) but no prisons and no Galrans so.. Yay? Thank you so much for the commission for my fundraiser hun and I truly hope you enjoyed the fic!

Also, apparently Hunk having a warhammer as his bayard is my new headcanon. And I love it. Rolling with this one for any future fics if it can make a legit appearance. Because how fricken cool?

Enjoy the fic too? Leave a comment! Let the author know what you enjoyed about the fic. Comments are the best way to thank them for the time and effort it took to write it because no matter how long it took you to read it, it took the author, much, much, much longer to write it and they _really_ like hearing from you. Please and thank you!


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